King of the Underworld by RJ Kane

366

“Adrik

Once Viktor and Ivan returned, I brought up the subject of my father’s men with Aleksei. Sephie had Vitaliy’s attention, along with most of the guys” attention, in her usual entertaining way.

“The two new guys. What kind of training do they have?” I asked Aleksei.

“Not quite the same as what I’d like, but it’s difficult to find someone with that kind of training these days. People are getting soft,” he said, half- disgusted. “I’ve been trying to work on their training to get them up to speed, but they complain. Never in front of Vitaliy, though. They’re at least

that smart.”

I thought for a few minutes. It might be a good idea to have Misha and Andrei put them in their places, after all. I explained the situation to Aleksei. “They’re disrespectful of my men. I would like to remind them of their place. If Sephie were completely healed, I would consider letting her loose on them. She’s arguably more pi ssed about this than I am,” I said.

Aleksei laughed. “She’s just as protective of your men as they are of her, then?”

I nodded. “You should see her go from zero to rage in a split second if someone takes the wrong tone with one of us.”

“I would actually like to see that, now that you mention it,” he said, thoughtfully. “What do you propose for the little flowers?”

“I’d like for Misha and Andrei to teach them a lesson, since they seem to want to target those two. They’re both lethal, Andrei even more so since he started training Sephie. It’s seemed to sharpen him up considerably,” I said.

“Teaching is always a good tool. It forces you to stay ahead of the student. I saw her at your father’s house. He’s working hard to stay ahead of her.”

“That was nothing. She’s still at maybe 60% of what she was before she was taken. Armando really did a number on her. The only reason I didn’t ki ll him right then was because her lung collapsed and she couldn’t breathe,” I said.

“They were able to pull you off him?” he asked, surprised.

on my back and told me she

with her.”

under his breath. “I’ve never seen

it, but I can’t live without it now,” I said.

moment. “Are you training in the morning?” he asked. I nodded my head. “We will train with you. It’s good to spar with new partners. We haven’t had anyone new in a while. I’m guessing your guys haven’t either. Misha

step away from everyone else and walked to us. Aleksei’s face softened when she smiled at

get their chance for a much-needed attitude adjustment in the

be grateful if they get their a sses beat. Serves them right for not wanting to

shift quickly. She smiled through it, but said, “let’s hope it turns out better than the last time.” She said it quietly enough that Aleksei didn’t hear her, but I did. I pulled her in front of me, wrapping both my arms around her shoulders as she hid her face in my chest. I knew she was okay with what happened with Mike, for the most part, but she still had days where she struggled with it. Even though she did the right thing,

caught Ivan’s eye as he felt her mood shift as well. Surprisingly, both Misha and Andrei also turned to check on her at almost the same time that Ivan did. That’s new. She held onto me tightly for

men.” I looked at Aleksei. “Do you want to keep him in the dark or let him know?”

He’s not fond of those two. They have big shoes to fill, granted,” he said, then

looked down at Sephie. “Then we can tell them now,” I

Ivan, too,” she said. She hadn’t taken her eyes off me since she lifted her head.

know that, solnishko?”

just did,”

at her. “New level unlocked,” I said, as she laughed

to Ivan in the kitchen as we walked back to everyone. Sephie walked between Andrei and Misha, hooking her arms through one of theirs. “When were you two planning on telling me

surprised as he looked at both of them, then looked to me. Everyone else got quiet, as Viktor and Stephen had heard her as well. Andrei looked nervous again. Poor kid was overwhelmed with everything going on. I was surprised with how well Misha

laugh at Andrei’s expression. “We know you weren’t

when we were in Panama. I felt her anger when you were gone with Vitaliy and I saw Ivan move to check on her. That helped me figure out what it was. Then when she disappeared for a while, I felt her get startled, but then it was like she was all over the place, then nothing. That’s when Misha noticed it, too. That’s when he came to check

then? Has it happened again?” I

his head. “She doesn’t like walking around the office by herself right now. It makes her really nervous. We could both feel it earlier when she walked